Improvement in windmills



G'. STEARNS.

Wind-Mills. A

` Patented September 30,1873.

` Annrneys UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE STEARNS, OF ELDORADO MILLS, WISCONSIN.

IMPROVEMENT IN WINDMILLS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 143,308, datedSeptember 30, 1873; application led August 23, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known vthat I, GEORGE STEARNS, of Eldorado Mills, in the county ofFond du Lac and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and ImprovedWindmill, of which the following is a specification:

My invention consists of novel contrivances for causing a pumpingwindmill to start and stop self-actingly by the influence of the waterraised up into the tanks and by weights, it also consists of a newcontrivance for adjusting the vanes to take the wind more or less, bythe inlluence of the wind; and it also consists of an extension of theframe to the front side of the wheel, to furnish a bearing for the frontend of the shaft.

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of my improved mill. Fig. 2 is asection of Fig. l, taken on the line x a2; and Fig. 3 is a detail,showing the wind-regulator.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

The arms A of the vanes B of the wind-wheel are fitted in the hub G sothat they can turnv on their axes, and each one is connected,l by ashort arm, I), with a hollow sliding hub, E, fitting over hub G, andbeing attached to a hollow shaft, F, extending back from the wheel alongthe crank-shaft G beyond the frame H, and having trunnions I projectingfrom the inner end into the inclined slots K of the anglebars L, whichare connected, at the upper and lower ends, to rollers M, arranged invertical ways N in the frame. Said trunnions also have rollers Oarranged to run forward and backward on the way P, to relieve thecrank-sh aft ofthe friction. The slotted elbow-bars L cause the hub E toslide forward and backward to shift the vanes by rising and falling;going downward, they turn the vanes so as to take the wind and set themill in motion, and going up they turn the vanes out of the wind andstop the mill. A weight, P', which, in practice, is to be afloat uponthe water in the tank or trough to be lled by the pump, is suspendedfrom the bars L, to pull them down and set the wheel in motion when thewater falls. By the rising of the water the bars will be relieved of theweight P', and the smaller Weight, Q, arranged to lift the bars L andturn the vanes out of the wind, either alone or in conjunction with thewind, will stop the mill. A wind-regulator, R, is pivoted to the frame Hat S, and connected to the bars L by an arm, T, and rod in such mannerthat, when the wind blows hard against it, it will spring back and forcethe said bars up and turn the vanes out of the wind to some extent, and,as the force of the wind lessens, it will yield to the influence of theweight P', which will turn the vanes back into the wind again, thusautomatically regulating the wheel to the varying gusts of wind. Thecrank-shaft is connected to the pump-rods V by a hollow swivel, W, androd X. The rod which suspends the weight P extends down through thehollow swivel, and the latter is arranged in the hollow axis Y of thestandard L, around which the frame H fits to turn as the wind shifts. y

The frame has a strong U-shaped piece at the front, extending down underthe Wheel and up t0 the center of the front, for a bearing, Z', for thefront end of the shaft.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Let.- ters Patent, is-

'1. The combination of the hollow sliding hub E, arms D, shaft F,inclined slotted an gle-bars L, and a floating weight, P', with thevanes B, arranged to revolve on their axes, substantially as specified.

2. The combination ofthe wheels O and way P with the hollow shaft F,crank-shaft G, and the slotted bars L, substantially as specifi-ed.

3. The combination ot' the regulators R with the inclined slottedangle-bars L, oscillating vanes B, and the weight P', substantially asspecified.

, 4. The arrangement of the U-shapedportion of the frame4 H to form abearing, Z', for the front end of the crank-shaft, substantially asspecified.

GEORGE STEARNS. Witnesses ENo'oH SCRIBNER, L. A. RANDALL.

